Onatas (philosopher)

Short description: Pythagorean philosopher

Onatas (Ancient Greek:) was a Pythagorean philosopher who lived in or around the 5th century BC,[1] possibly in either Croton[2] or Tarentum.[3] Nothing more is known about his life, but he is credited by Stobaeus as the author of a pseudonymous Neo-Pythagorean work from the 1st century BC or AD entitled On God and the Divine (Greek: Περὶ θεοῦ καὶ θείου), which Stobaeus excerpts a long passage from.[4] The author of the passage ("Pseudo-Onatas") argues against the belief in a single deity, on the basis that the universe itself is not God but only divine, [5] but that God is a governing part of the universe.[6] He argues that since there are many "powers" in the universe, therefore they must belong to different gods.[7] Pseudo-Onatas also claimed that the earthy mixture of the body defiles the purity of the soul.[8]

## Notes

1. ↑ Trevor Curnow, (2006), The philosophers of the ancient world: an A to Z guide, page 201
2. ↑ Iamblichus, Vit. Pyth. 267
3. ↑ Joannes Laurentius Lydus, De Mens. 2\. 12
4. ↑ Stobaeus, i. 1. 39
5. ↑ P. L. Reynolds, "The Essence, Power and Presence of God" in Édouard Jeauneau, Haijo Jan Westra, (1992), From Athens to Chartres: neoplatonism and medieval thought, page 355. BRILL
6. ↑ Documenti e studi sulla tradizione filosofica medievale, (1999), Volume 10, page 3. Società internazionale per lo studio del Medioevo latino, Centro italiano di studi sull'alto Medioevo.
7. ↑ James M. Reese, (1970), Hellenistic influence on the Book of Wisdom and its consequences, page 56. Pontificium Institutum Biblicum
8. ↑ James M. Reese, (1970), Hellenistic influence on the Book of Wisdom and its consequences, page 87. Pontificium Institutum Biblicum

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